A common problem in many public toilet room facilities is the failure for users of such facilities to activate or otherwise flush the fixtures, so as to remove matter therefrom. There are many reasons for this oversight, one of which may be the fear of possible contamination or infection due to touching of the handle of the flush valve with the hand. This problem has become more pronounced by recent revelations concerning the existence of various fatal and dehabilitating communicable diseases.
To remedy this situation, several devices have been proposed which permits the activation of the flush valve with the foot. Representative of those devices, of which I am aware, are as follows:
______________________________________ Pat. No. Inventor Date of Issue ______________________________________ 244,381 Daggett July 19, 1881 543,945 Putnam Aug. 6, 1895 1,241,037 Sharp, Jr. Sept. 25, 1917 1,614,346 Coret Jan. 11, 1927 1,615,523 Shimo Jan. 25, 1927 2,467,019 Farson April 12, 1949 ______________________________________
Unfortunately, none of the above devices, nor any other devices of which I am aware, provide for sufficient adjustability and flexibility required to permit both the vertical and horizontal adjustment thereof required for adaptation to the handles on existing and new flush valves for toilet room urinals, toilet bowls and fixtures presently utilized. These prior art devices appear to be impractical and thus, to the best of my knowledge and belief, have not been implemented commercially.
More recently, photoelectric devices have been introduced in an effort to correct this problem of long standing. These photoelectric devices, which operate a solenoid valve, detect when a user has walked away from the urinal. These photoelectric devices are quite costly and, besides, are difficult and time consuming to adapt to existing installations on a retrofit basis, where access is often quite limited, and where both a licensed plumber as well as a licensed electrician are required.